Are Telematics in Your Future?

If you own, drive or even ride in a car, the answer is yes. By 2022, there will be an estimated 2 billion connected vehicles on the road worldwide. “This transformation will impact insurers, repairers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), creating new risks and opportunities,” according to Mac Fraser, a spokesperson for CCC Information Services.

The nexus of this transformation creating new risks and opportunities, according to Fraser, is something called “telematics” — collecting and analyzing data about cars as an ongoing process. It will likely have a profound impact on car repairs and insurance in the future. Telematics would improve many of the processes involving vehicles and their drivers, including improved:

Repair services — manufacturers are now recommending or requiring repairers to complete pre- and post-repair scans on vehicles to determine precisely how to optimize vehicle maintenance Fraser says.

Property damage claims handling — the car itself would initiate the first notice of loss (FNLO), sending it data about the needed repairs to insurers and repair shops.

Bodily injury reporting — analytics from the auto’s accelerometer and impact data sensors would help determine whether there were injuries and contact medical and other services.

As more information is collected from all kinds of vehicles and new communications channels are established, “the opportunities for improved communication and streamlined processes across the spectrum grows, and with it the opportunity to develop new relationships with the consumer and others across the ecosystem,” according to Fraser.

Add telematics to driverless cars, which at least one car manufacturer has promised by the end of the decade, and we will soon be witnessing a revolution in the way automobiles are driven, repaired and insured. Fasten your seat belts. We’ll keep you up to date.